Adhesive collar stay package



April 29, 1952 w. R. STORY 2,595,112

ADHESIVE COLLAR STAY PACKAGE I Filed Oct. 15. 1949 INVEN TOR.

M O-a4 ,q rroRMFYS Patented Apr. 29, 1952 v UNITED STATES ATENT OFFICE ADHESIVE COLLAR STAY PACKAGE Walter R. Story, Bellevue, Ky. Application October 15, 1949, Serial No. 121,589

2 Claims.

This invention relates to shirt collar stays and is particularly directed to a self-supporting adhesive stay adapted for use with practically any make or style of collar and which may be repeatedly used and re-used on the same shirt or on different shirts for a great number of wearings.

In order to prevent starched and soft collars from curling and wrinkling, it has been conventional to stiffen and support the collar wings by means of elongated stays or ribs which are removably held in cloth pockets formed on the underside of the wings. Before the shirt is laundered, the stays are removed from the pockets so that they are not bent or broken during laundering or ironing.

Although pocket-supported stays have been generally adopted in many medium and high priced shirts, they have not been completely satisfactory for a number of reasons. In the first place, the formation of the pockets materially increases the manufacturing cost, so much as to make their use impracticable in shirts of the less expensive grades. Consequently, the collars of inexpensive shirts have no provisions for supporting the stays and, in their absence, wrinkle or curl without restraint.

Moreover, the sizes of the pockets and stays are not standard between shirts but vary considerably with the make and cut of the collar with the result that it is usually not possible to interchange tays between different collars. Hence, if a stay for any particular shirt becomes lost or broken, it is virtually impossible to find a ready made replacement and the user must improvise a stay from a stiff material, such as cardboard, alter a stay designed for another shirt, or do without.

Because the stay pocket openings are usually located near the collar neckband and are selfclosing to prevent the stay from working out of the pocket, it is difficult or annoying for the user to insert and remove the stays from the pockets without wrinkling or soiling the collar, particularly if the wearer has forgotten to place the stays in the pockets before putting on the shirt. Wire stays, on the other hand, are objectionable because they are held in place by collar penetrating cleats, which tear or fray the collar fabric.

This invention is directed to the provision of a self-supporting, self-adhering collar stay capable of being utilized on a shirt collar without the aid of external supporting means such as stay pockets or collar penetrating cleats. Con- 2 sequently, it will be apparent that the use of stays of this type will not only permit a material reduction in the manufacturing cost of shirts, but the wearing life of the shirts will be substantially prolonged. The stays of this invention are adapted for repeated use with the same shirt or different shirts having a variety of collar styles for a great number of wearings. Thus, in the event that a stay becomes mislaid or lost, it can be easily replaced with a similar stay without necessitating the construction of a substitute fitted to a particular collar pocket. Moreover, the stays of this invention can be quickly and conveniently placed in concealed supporting position at any desired angulation with respect to the collar wing without mussing or ,soiling the collar, even though the shirt is being worn at the time of attachment.

Described in more detail, the collar stay of this invention comprises a collar tab stiffener having a face surfaced wholly or in part, with a pressure-responsive adhesive which is effective to hold the stay in association with the fabric of the collar wing. In use, the stay is placed in concealed position against the undersurface of the collar wing where it remains until it is forcibly removed. Although the bond established, under finger pressure, between the collar fabric and the adhesive material is quite strong and will not permit accidental forceless detachment of the stay, the adhesive selected has a greater affinity for the material of the stay than it does for the shirt fabric. Hence, when the stay is removed from the shirt, the adhesive adhere firmly to the stay surface and detaches from the collar cleanly without leaving residual spots of the adhesive clinging to the collar fabric.

In order to keep the adhesive in a tacky condition and to prevent it from air drying when not attached to a shirt collar, this invention also contemplates the provision of a protective facing strip which is adapted to be placed over the adhesive face of the stay, thereby shielding the adhesive from air and preventing the accumulation of dust, dirt and foreign particles which would otherwise tend prematurely to deprive the stay of its adhesive characteristics. When the stay is to be used, the facing strip is removed and the stay is pressed into place on the underside of the collar. During use, the collar fabric supplants the facing strip as the protective shield for the adhesive.

Other advantages of this invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of the drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a series of paired stays mounted on a card in a manner convenient for merchandizing, showing one pair removed.

Figure 2 is a front view of an individual stay showing the non-collar engaging side of the Stay.

Figure 3 is a view showing the collar engaging side of the stay with the facing strip peeled back to expose the adhesive.

Figure 4 is a front view of a shirt showing the manner in which the stay is attached.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary side view. of a preferred embodiment of this invention which is slightly different from the embodiments shown in Figures 2 and 3.

As best seen in Figures 2 and 3,,a typical collar stay which is constructed in accordance with this invention comprises; a generally rectangular stiffener or rib which. forms the main body of the stay. The lower edge of the stiffener is angulated as at H to conformv to the angular point of the collar wing. As best seen in Figure 3, one face of the stiffener is coated with a pressure-responsive adhesive I2. In the embodiment shown, the entire face is covered with ads hesive but it will be apparent to. those skilled in the art that the adhesive can be. applied in strategically located areas or spots without. departing from the spirit of this invention.

The stifiener rib can be formed from a variety of. stiff material such as thin metal, or heavy paper or cardboard. However, I have successfully utilized and prefer a stiffener fabricated from the vinyl chloride-vinyl acetate copolymer resin, containing stabilizers necessary to produce the desiredend product.

In order to keep the exposed surface of the adhesive tacky and to prevent it. from air-drying, a facing strip l3 formed from paper is supplied to cover the exposed adhesive surface. ing strip is configurated to cover the adhesive contact areas and it may be provided with a tab l4 which extends beyond the edge of the stifiener and permits the strip to be grasped readily.

When the stay is to beused on a shirt, the facing strip is. grasped by the tab and peeled from the surface of the adhesive, thereby exposing the, adhesive. The stay. is then placed in position on the surface of the collar wing and adjusted so that the angulated edge II conforms to the wing vertex [5 (Figured). applying thumb and, finger pressure. to the stay, the adhesive can be made to adhere firmly to the cloth surface, to the underside ofthe collar. When it is desired to remove the stay when one edge of the stiffener is grasped and pulled from the collar, the facing strip is then replaced to keep the adhesive tacky until the next time. the stay is to be used. I have discovered that if the facing strip is kept covering the adhesive between \vearings, the same stay may be used for 24 or different wearings over a periodof a months time before the adhesive becomes inert.

The adhesive is selected carefully so that the bond established between the adhesive and the stay or stiffener is stronger than the bond established between the adhesive and the shirt fabric or facing strip material. Any number of adhesives of this type are known to those skilled in the art of pressure-responsive adhesives. By virtue of this characteristic, the adhesive adheres more firmly to the stay and follows the stay as, it ispeeled from the collar. Consequent+ 1y, it is cleanly detached from the collar and The fac- 4 stays.

4 does not leave spots of adhesive clinging to the collar which would be difl'icult to remove. By the same token, the collar does not pull the adhesive from the stiffener and the stiffener retains its adhesive over long periods of use.

While a pressure-responsive adhesive is preferred and entirely suitable for use in conjunction with this stay, the invention also contemplates the use of a heat-responsive adhesive. If the latter type of adhesive is used in the stay, it may be utilized to advantage in laundries or in shirt manufacturing plants where the stay may be placed in position on the collar and the adhesive activated by a hot iron during the i shirt pressing operation.

A convenient means for marketing and handling the adhesive collar stays of this invention is shown in Figure 1. A rectangular cardboard panel 16 serves as a support and mount for the A heavy paper backing sheet H is detachably fastened to one face of the panel by any convenient means such as spotsof adhesive or cement, and can readily be detached therefrom by a quick pull. Pressed on the face of the backing sheet are a series of complementary pairs of stiffeners. Each pair includes astifiener 3 for the left collar wing and a stiffener 19 for the right collar wing. The respective pairs are held to the facing strip by means of the pressureresponsive adhesive on the underside of the stiffener. When it is desired to use a pair of stays, a right and left stifiener are peeled from the back of the sheet and applied to the shirt collar. During the removal of the stays the backing sheet is held to thepanel. by means of the paste or cement previously described. After use, the stays are then pressed back into the vacated position on the backing sheet.

One of the chief advantages of this construction resides in the fact that it is not necessary to utilize individual facing strips which easily become lost when not attached to the stiffener. The large backing sheet mounted on the cardboard panel is easier to keep and locate and it is extremely unlikely that. the backing sheet will blow away or become lost. which is often the case when individual strips are used. However, if it is desired, the backing sheet may be cut or torn into individual facing strips for the individual stiffeners. To facilitate. removal of the individual stripsfromthe sheet, score lines or slits 29 may be provided on the sheet. Moreover, the lower edge of the sheet may be configurated to conformto the pointed ends of the stifiener and thereby provide a preformed angulated edge for each individual facing strip.

In Figure 5, I have shown a preferred embodiment of my invention. In this form, the stifiener comprises'a rib 21, a coating of adhesive 22 and a rough corrugated paper tape 23. The collarcontacting, pressure-responsive adhesive is indicated at 24 and covers either wholly or in part the surface of the tape 23. A facing strip 25 of thetype previously described covers'and protects the adhesive 24. This construction is particularly advantageous in so far as manufacture and assembly of the stays is concerned, because the tape 23 may be of a commercial type which has opposite faces coated with films. of'pressure-responsive adhesive. The pre-fabricated. commercial tape is simply pressed into position on the rib to form the completed unit and it is unnecessary for the stay manufacturer to deal with liquid adhesive.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A package of collar stays comprising: a plurality of complementary pairs of collar stays, each pair consisting of a stay having the lower end thereof angulated to conform generally to the angular point of a left collar wing and a stay having the lower end thereof angulated to conform generally to the angular point of a right collar wing, each stay surfaced on one face with pressure responsive adhesive, said pairs of stays adhesively secured to an integral backing sheet in side by side relationship with the angulated ends of each pair providing a pair-identifying V, a stiff panel mounting and supporting said backing sheet, and said backing sheet configurated to conform to the outline of the lower ends of the respective stays and having a portion extending beyond the upper ends of the stays, said backing sheet slit between the stays from the lower angulated ends thereof to points above the upper ends of the stays but short of the upper edge of the backing sheet, whereby connecting webs are provided between each pair of stays and between the stays of each pair.

2. A package comprising a plurality of collar stays each of which has its lower end configurated to conform generally to the vertex of a collar wing, each stay surfaced on one face with pressure responsive adhesive, said stays adhesively secured to an integral backing sheet in side by side relationship, a stiff panel mounting and supporting said backing sheet, said backing sheet configurated to conform to the outline of the lower ends of the respective stays and having a portion extending beyond the upper ends of the stays, and said backing sheet being slit between the stays from the lower ends thereof to points above their upper ends but short of the upper edge of the backing sheet, whereby connecting webs are provided between the stays.

WALTER R. STORY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 983,953 Till Feb. 14, 1911 1,403,769 Gross Jan. 17, 1922 2,030,135 Carpenter Feb. 11, 1936 2,116,008 Block May 3, 1938 2,372,994 Welch Apr. 3, 1945 2,434,545 Brady et al. Jan. 13, 1948 2,445,553 Beavers July 20, 1948 

